Snohomish is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,098 at the 2010 census. The mayor of Snohomish is Karen Guzak, and the City Manager is Larry Bauman. Snohomish prides itself for its historical downtown, and is known for its many antique shops. Snohomish is also known as the "Antique Capital of the Northwest."[5] The historic business and residential center of the town constitutes the Snohomish Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many houses bear plaques with the year the house was built and the name of the family or individual who originally occupied it. Once every year, the city gives tours of the historic houses; one of them, the Blackman House, is a year-round museum. A general aviation airfield, Harvey Airfield, is less than one mile southwest of Downtown Snohomish.

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History[edit]

Snohomish was founded roughly in 1858[6] by Emory C. Ferguson, E. F. Cady and others. It was originally known as Cadyville,[7] and changed its name to Snohomish City in 1871. The name Snohomish is taken from the name of the dominant local Native American tribe "sdoh-doh-hohbsh", whose meaning is widely disputed.

One of the first inland cities in the Puget Sound region, Snohomish was built where a planned military road connecting Fort Steilacoom and Fort Bellingham was set to cross the Snohomish River. The road, proposed in the wake of the Pig War, was intended to be built far enough inland to be safe from British naval attacks. Although the road was never completed, Snohomish quickly became a local center of commerce in the expanding region.[7][8] In 1861, Snohomish County split from Island County and the Village of Snohomish was voted the county seat. It remained as such until 1897 when the county seat was relocated to the larger, yet much newer neighboring city of Everett, Washington after a controversial and contested county-wide vote.[8]

The first school was organized in the city in either 1867 or 1869. The city was finally incorporated in 1890 with Hyrcanus Blackman (who had, since 1888, been Police Chief with the monthly salary of $20.00 per month plus $2.00 for each arrest) as mayor. 1893 saw the construction of a roller skating rink and 1894 the first graduations from Snohomish High School. By 1899 the city of Snohomish was a prosperous town with a population of 2,000, with 25 businesses and 80 homes.[9]

steamboat Marguerite at Snohomish, Washington, sometime before May 24, 1907

1901 brought Snohomish the first motor car in the county. In 1903 First Street was paved with brick and when it was finished there was a three day celebration. For years afterwards the city's residents remained so proud of the street that they washed it every week with a fire hose. In 1911 a disastrous fire struck First Street and everything between Avenues B and C was destroyed. The fire began when a small blaze in the Palace Cafe on the South side of the street got out of control on Memorial Day, 1911 at about four a.m. Thirty-five business structures were put out of business, with $173,000 worth of goods destroyed. Despite the disaster the town continued to grow and by 1920 the population grew to a little over 3,000. The population would remain relatively stable for the next 40 years.[10]

The Great Depression was not acutely felt in Snohomish because its economy was mostly agrarian with many family farms. One of the largest employers in Snohomish, Bickford Ford, was founded in 1934 by Lawrence Bickford, the dealership flourished in a period where many auto dealerships dissolved. The 1930s did bring Snohomish some national notice, however, due to baseball great Earl Averill, the only Washingtonian in the Baseball Hall of Fame, who played from 1929 to 1941, mostly with the Cleveland Indians.[11]

The 1960s saw the city of Snohomish enter into a period of decline. Region wide, many people were laid off as the Boeing Company fell on hard times and a great many people left the area. A famous phrase of the day was "Will the last person out of Seattle please turn off the lights?" Snohomish fought back with a redevelopment plan in 1965 that proposed the destruction of the historic structures along First Street in order to make way for a covered mall. The plan was not carried out due to lack of available funds and as a result the area remains today as it has through much of its history.[12]

The Alcazar Opera House, built in 1892, later became an agricultural supply store and is now one of Snohomish's many antiques stores.

The general economic malaise of the town continued throughout much of the '70s, with the downtown area given over to mostly bars and small shops. In 1973, the city adopted a Historic District Ordinance protecting historic buildings and structures from inappropriate alterations and demolitions and encouraging the design of new construction in keeping with the historic character of the district. In 1974, the Historic Business District, a 36-block area, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Larger stores moved away from First Street into newer developments and strip malls that spread out along Second Street and Avenue D.

In 1974 the Seattle-Snohomish mill was totally gutted by fire but was rebuilt by its owners. A severe flood struck the area damaging over 300 homes and killing 3,500 head of livestock in 1975, but the community rallied to support those who were affected. 1976 and 78 brought added community spirit as Snohomish High School won the AAA State football Championships under coach Dick Armstrong.

The 1980s saw renewed vigor in Snohomish when, along with other developments, two 7-Eleven convenience stores and a McDonald's franchise opened during the first part of the decade. In 1981, Richard Pryor came to town to film parts of the movie Bustin' Loose and Snohomish received additional attention from Hollywood in the 1983 movie WarGames as the name of the high school from which the character David Lightman, played by Matthew Broderick, hacks into a military computer system. However, the actual high school used in the film is El Segundo High School in El Segundo, California.

Around 1985, the U.S. Route 2 bypass was completed, allowing the traffic which had until then been forced to pass through the town to circumvent the city. This greatly eased the gridlock which had been a part of everyday life and allowed the city to assume the more peaceful character that it has today.

In the 1990s First Street was redeveloped to take advantage of its historic buildings as a tourist attraction. The sidewalks were rebuilt and public restrooms added in order to further serve the community and visitors. The city hall and police station were moved away from First Street and a new fire station was built, allowing those historic buildings to be renovated as well.

Today, Snohomish is very much a model of how cities can reinvigorate their business districts by preserving their historic charm. The town has continued to grow with much of the development spread out along the former route of Route 2, now known as Bickford Avenue. The city has nurtured a great balance between regular businesses in modern facilities which serve the community and specialty shops in the historic part of town to serve the tourist trade.

There were 3,645 households of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

There were 3,276 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,396, and the median income for a family was $61,034. Males had a median income of $40,463 versus $33,929 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,917. About 4.1% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Schools[edit]

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2010)

Snohomish is served by the Snohomish School District. Public schools of the Snohomish School District include: Snohomish High School, Glacier Peak High School, AIM High School (Alternate High School), Centennial Middle School, Valley View Middle School, Dutch Hill Elementary, Emerson Elementary, Riverview Elementary, Cascade View Elementary, Machias Elementary, Seattle Hill Elementary, Totem Falls Elementary, Cathcart Elementary, and Central Elementary. Private schools in Snohomish include Peaceful Glen Christian School and Zion Lutheran School. In addition to these schools, fall 2007 saw the opening of a new elementary, Little Cedars Elementary School followed in Fall 2008 by the much anticipated Glacier Peak High School, which should fix crowding problems for the school district. Parts of Snohomish are included in the Monroe School District, with schools that are located in Snohomish, like Maltby Elementary School, and Hidden River Middle School. Students that attend these schools continue to Monroe High School, which is in Monroe, Washington.

St. Michael Catholic School also added a preschool and grade school in the Fall of 2007.

^West, Susan. "Antique Store Closes Because of Poor Economy". KCPQ-TV. Retrieved 2009-02-11. "It's located in what's known as the "Antique Capital of the Northwest" in the city of Snohomish. The streets are filled with specialty shops including those for various types of antiques, tea, furniture, clothing and more."

^Historic Snohomish Residential Walking Tour brochure, Snohomish Chamber of Commerce says 1855; Snohomish Business District Walking Tour brochure, published by the City of Snohomish, says 1858.

^ abHistoric Snohomish Residential Walking Tour brochure, Snohomish Chamber of Commerce; Snohomish Business District Walking Tour brochure, published by the City of Snohomish.